This week’s Torah reading opens with a focus on the events of the eighth day of inauguration of the mishkan, the sanctuary of God. At the climax, on the eighth day of dedication, Nadav and Avihu, the two older children of Aaron the Priest, die.
We tremble with shock and horror in our hearts upon reading this in the Torah. On that awesome day of initiating the rituals of worship at the mishkan, the two great sons of Aaron suddenly die. To experience the depth of the shock, consider the extended passages in the Torah leading up to that great day of inauguration.
The last five Torah readings in Shemot listed extensive instructions for the building of the mishkan. Then the book of Vayikra opened with the procedures for the sacrifices and the consecration of the priests and the mishkan (chapter 8) to sanctify the eighth day of dedication. No other event in the Torah is introduced with such elaborate details and preparations.
The extensive preparations accomplish the awesome goal of bringing the Divine Presence into a specific place. As it states: “Moses and Aaron then went inside the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the Glory of God appeared to all the people” (9:23).
After being slaves in Egypt at the lowest levels of impurity, Israel miraculously left bondage, received the Torah, and built the mishkan of God. But now precisely as they initiate the ceremony of worship, as they attain the ultimate religious fulfillment, the two sons of Aaron die. As great as the expectation was, so was the loss and sadness. How painful and jarring the emotional descent downward must have been especially when it came after such a great and exalted spiritual high.
The day turns into a time of national mourning because at the moment of exaltation, two of Aaron’s sons committed a sin. That unexpected sinful act obviously captured the attention of our sages, who offered many explanations for the deaths of Nadav and Avihu. The following midrash was said in the name of Rabbi Levi (2nd - 3rd centuries) .
Aaron’s sons died on account of four issues, and each one of the four is associated with death.
1) They drank wine, and death is written there: “You shall not drink wine or intoxicating drink … that you not die” (Lev. 10:9).
2) They lacked a required priestly garment, and death is stated there: “They [the garments] shall be on Aaron and his sons [whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting] …so they will not bear iniquity and die” (Ex. 28:43)
3) They did not wash their hands and feet, as it is stated: “They shall wash their hands and their feet, and they will not die” (Exodus 30:21).
4)“Nadav and Avihu died before the Lord…and they had no children” (Num. 3:4). Abba Ḥanin says: “It is because they did not have wives, as it is written: ‘And atone for himself and for his household’ (Leviticus 16:6); ‘his household,’ this is his wife” (Lev. Rabbah 20:9).
We see how the great pain over their deaths attracted the attention of our sages who sought to provide different explanations for the meaning of the sin that brought about the tragedy. In a straightforward reading, we can see that our sages offer these interpretations of the passage about the deaths of Nadav and Avihu because of their strong awareness of the dangers hidden in unbridled religious enthusiasm. In this case, I think it is also possible to clarify the meaning of the sin from the context of the verses in our parsha. It states:
“Now Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, each took his fire pan and put fire in it and laid incense in it; and they offered before the Lord an alien fire that He had not commanded them” (10:1).
We should note as well that when the Torah mentions their sin in additional places in the Torah, it is careful to mention that their deaths arose from using an alien fire that God did not command. In any case, the Torah explicitly attributes the reason for their deaths to their actions in which they performed a service that was not commanded by God.
Since their deaths occur at the climax of the inauguration ceremony, the question of the meaning of their sin takes on additional meaning. The juxtaposition of their deaths with the inauguration requires explanation on its own. One needs to understand what exactly the Torah wishes to teach in this intense chapter.
There are many hasidic works and religious texts that are filled with sermons clarifying and emphasizing in a meaningful way how important intention is in the fulfillment of the mitzvot. We are meant to hold firm and perform the commandments without ulterior personal or external motives. We are meant to seek to perform the commandments for the purpose of heaven with pure intention and not from personal interest like this or another.
However, it seems to me that precisely in that exalted status in which God rests his Divine Presence on the people of Israel, the Torah sees the need to teach a central idea about intention, that should balance the meaning of all this. The tragic deaths of the two sons of Aaron resulted from their excessive religious enthusiasm to perform service in a way that “God did not command.” Their wish at its foundation was certainly positive, but in the end it was not desired at all by God.
There are times when people may experience a spiritual awakening with a force that moves them internally to do more than what is requested or expected according to the standard religious practices. This desire may be even more dangerous because people may not see the dangers that are concealed in excessive religious practices, since in their own minds they seem to be acting positively.
A person may think that emotional acts to glorify a mitzvah in one way or another, or being extra scrupulous about a mitzvah, might bring about elevated fulfillment of the commandment. But the Torah explains, it’s precisely this that might detract and bring about a downfall. The placement of these two events in the Torah right next to each other and the ensuing tragic consequences informs us about the hazards hidden in dangerous expressions. When the religious action stems from exactly that awesome spiritual high, this danger of overdoing it is even more present.
The Torah recognizes the fact that these feelings spring up in the heart of man specifically when he feels exalted spiritually in some way, and especially then the possibility of a dramatic fall may be closer than ever.
The power of this teaching is great and relevant especially in our days, in which there are definite constituencies who teach that they and only they are the ones who are fulfilling the unique path for the worship of God. Their spiritual practices may be externally expressed in very large head coverings, or in the subversive prayer-gatherings during Corona, or in dragging out the prayer service with long melodies, or in the excessive strictness about certain customs.
Do the mitzvah or mitzvot “that God commanded,” the Torah emphasizes. In other words, there is a desired and accepted way in which it is necessary to fulfill the mitzvot of God. This path goes through a straightforward and clear approach, without stringencies and overscrupulousness, and without extraneous actions that were not commanded to us.
The desire to climb in levels of holiness and purity is certainly very positive on its own, but it needs to come from a place of great humility, and from an understanding that fulfillment of the will of God is rooted in its foundation in the straightforward commandments received at Mount Sinai. It is specifically from this understanding that a person should come to fulfill the remainder of the commandments.
The parsha of Shemini tells us about the potential cost of excessive enthusiasm without a clear understanding of the Torah’s command. The tragic deaths of Aaron’s children at the mishkan’s inauguration shows us that the fulfillment of God’s clear will, that is rooted in the commandments at Sinai is the greatest and most appropriate. This religious practice expresses more than anything else the absolute commitment to the higher law.
Precisely when a person does not feel a connection to a mitzvah, but rather fulfills the command of God because this is what is required, one may experience a great religious elevation. And there is nothing in this to diminish the thoughts of intention and effort, God forbid.
I will conclude with the words of Rav Pinchas ben Yehuda of Polotsk (1747-1823), a student of the Vilna Gaon. In his work “Rosh Hagiva”, Rav Pinchas writes:
And be very careful my son from arrogance because it destroys the Jewish faith entirely. And our sages said, “not everyone who wants to take God’s name should do so,” [i.e., not everyone should be so pious as to think they can pray and have intention]. Now tell me, my son, what the sound of this noise is. And what does it matter to me if a man wants to be stringent on himself and to do a good action, as who would be damaged or lose out in this case, as he is not even doing an evil act.
But I will tell you what I wrote down in my work “the Ketav Emet” because it is specifically through such that one can destroy the entire world with good deeds … Our sages have taught us the following. “When the number of haughty people in general proliferated and the number of students decreased, they would say haughtily that there was nothing left for them to learn.” Haughtiness causes one’s eyes to be blinded (Sota 47b).
Therefore, my son, make sure that you do not make the minor religious matters become the core of your religious practices… Be careful, my son, not to excessively overdo it without measure in the righteous customs… because sometimes adding abundant oil to a flame may actually cause the fire to go out entirely.”
In Memory of our beloved David Schwartz, who fell in battle,on 27 Tevet, 5784 (8 January 2024).
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